After administering acupuncture to Princess Huian, Huian sensibly rose to take her leave.
Lü Wan tidied the shattered teacups on the table and waited by her side, her hands clasped. Nan Shiying sat for a moment, her mind replaying thoughts about Great Yuan. She suddenly looked up and asked Lü Wan, "Are there any history books in the manor?"
Lü Wan, though unsure why the Consort was asking, quickly replied, "Yes, they are in the Prince's study."
Nan Shiying stood up and walked towards the front courtyard without a word.
Lü Wan hurried to follow.
The study in the front courtyard.
Xuan Shisan saw Nan Shiying approaching hurriedly and quickly stepped forward to greet her, "Your Ladyship, why have you come?"
His palms were a little sweaty, and he wasn't sure what he was nervous about.
Nan Shiying glanced at him, not stopping her steps as she headed towards the study, and said concisely, "Borrowing books."
Xuan Shisan opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped. He glanced at Lü Wan following behind and wanted to stop Nan Shiying but dared not. Nan Shiying looked at him with a touch of surprise and frowned slightly, "What, is it inconvenient?"
Xuan Shisan gave a dry chuckle. Madam Rulan was currently in the study. If the Consort were to run into her, what would happen?
Was it truly inconvenient?
Nan Shiying stopped and looked towards the study. She didn't insist on entering. After a moment's thought, she said to Xuan Shisan, "Then I'll come back later."
Xuan Shisan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the study door was pushed open from the inside, and Wei Rulan emerged.
Seeing Wei Rulan, Nan Shiying gave Xuan Shisan a knowing, half-smile. Xuan Shisan immediately felt a wave of cold air crawl from his spine all the way to the top of his head.
Seeing Nan Shiying, a hint of inquiry flashed in Wei Rulan's eyes. She quickly descended the steps and walked to Nan Shiying, greeting her charmingly, "Sister, may you have ten thousand years of peace and happiness."
Nan Shiying found it somewhat grating. Looking at her smiling face, she felt an inexplicable sense of cloying discomfort.
She coldly grunted in response.
Nan Shiying's complexion was ruddy, and her breathing was long and steady, showing no signs of deep poisoning.
Wei Rulan's heart was filled with suspicion.
Had Nan Shiying been poisoned or not?
Nan Shiying's Xin Yuan Pavilion was like an impenetrable fortress, making it impossible to glean any information. Furthermore, despite her multiple requests to see her, she had never met her. If one were to count carefully, the number of times she had seen Nan Shiying since Nan Shiying entered the manor could be counted on one's fingers. If Nan Shiying's presence were not so strong, they might even overlook her existence.
What was this person's situation?
Wei Rulan's lowered eyelids trembled incessantly. From Nan Shiying's perspective, though she couldn't see everything, she could still sense the turmoil in Wei Rulan's heart.
She couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
Ji Jinmo heard the commotion outside and came out.
Seeing Nan Shiying, he was slightly taken aback. He walked to her side, not even looking at Wei Rulan, his phoenix eyes entirely fixed on Nan Shiying.
"Princess Huian has left?" he asked.
Nan Shiying glanced at him and, not wanting to engage, let out a soft "hmm" from her nose. "Gone!"
As she spoke, she glanced at Wei Rulan again.
Ji Jinmo, understanding her unspoken message, said no more. Instead, he turned to Wei Rulan and said, "You may withdraw."
Wei Rulan perked up her ears, wanting to hear more. However, she hadn't expected them to stop talking. She bit her lip, her eyes, still veiled with a watery sheen, gazing up at Ji Jinmo from below. The allure in her gaze was enough to captivate any onlooker, but Ji Jinmo, oblivious to her charm, frowned.
He even chided her with some displeasure, "Are you not withdrawing yet?"
Wei Rulan's eyes immediately turned red. She lowered her eyes, feigning a touch of grievance, and murmured in assent.
Nan Shiying tutted. She really wished Wei Rulan would go to the Nan Qu troupe and sing opera. With such acting skills, it would be a waste to keep her in the inner court. If she went to the Nan Qu troupe, she might even become a star performer.
Xuan Shisan glanced at Wei Rulan, then at Nan Shiying.
He felt that his Lord displayed both coldness and tenderness to the fullest. Towards Wei Rulan, he was a hundred times impatient, while towards the Consort, he was gentle and soft, fearing to displease her.
The difference in treatment was too obvious.
Ji Jinmo led Nan Shiying into the study. Lü Wan and Xuan Shisan, wisely, did not follow.
"Did you need something from me?" he asked, pushing the pastries Wei Rulan had just sent over towards Nan Shiying, then sitting beside her.
Nan Shiying nudged the pastries in front of her, not answering Ji Jinmo's question. Instead, she asked, "She sent these?"
Ji Jinmo grunted in affirmation.
"Is this what you meant by having something?" she asked again.
Ji Jinmo's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. The faint light, like fireflies, in his deep, dark eyes began to spread. Nan Shiying felt a bit shy under his gaze. Before he could answer, she said, "I've come to borrow some books."
As she spoke, her gaze swept across the bookshelf that filled the entire front wall. After searching, she finally spotted the Records of the Grand Historian on the middle shelf, on the far right. She pointed to the Records of the Grand Historian and said to Ji Jinmo, "I want to borrow that book."
Ji Jinmo followed her finger and, seeing the book she indicated, looked at her with some confusion.
Why the Records of the Grand Historian?
Ji Jinmo did not believe this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Had Princess Huian said something to her? Or was she looking for something?
Though his mind was filled with a thousand speculations, he had no intention of asking. He stood up, pulled out the book, and handed it to Nan Shiying. He then said to her, "The small kitchen tried some new dishes today. Would you like to stay and try them?"
Nan Shiying took the Records of the Grand Historian, glanced at Ji Jinmo, and said nothing. She simply got up, went to the soft couch, grabbed a nearby cushion, and placed it behind her. Finding a comfortable position, she opened the Records of the Grand Historian.
Ji Jinmo smiled and called Xuan Shisan in.
"My Lord!"
Xuan Shisan quickly glanced at the soft couch, then hastily averted his gaze.
Ji Jinmo pointed to the food box on the table and instructed, "Take these pastries out and discard them. Then, ask the small kitchen to send over some osmanthus cakes and hazelnut crisps."
Aren't these the pastries Madam Rulan just sent?
And now they are to be thrown away?
Xuan Shisan tutted, but he did not dare to show any emotion. After acknowledging the order, he took the food box and withdrew.
...
After Xuan Shisan left, the room fell silent. Only the rustling of pages could be heard.
Nan Shiying opened the preface.
In the twenty-fifth year of Hongli of Great Yuan, the thirty-eighth year of Emperor Hongwen's reign, the Empress Nüwa Nan Fengluan was born in the imperial palace of Great Yuan.
Nan Shiying read very quickly. She skipped all the accounts of her father's reign and her own ascension to Empress, flipping directly to the fall of Great Yuan.
In the fifty-ninth year of Fengli of Great Yuan, twenty-one years after the demise of Empress Nüwa Nan Fengluan, the King of Northern Ji led an army of a million soldiers southward. He first captured Fengning City, a key fortress of Great Yuan, and then advanced along Fengning City all the way to the capital of Great Yuan.
Great Yuan's army collapsed like a mountain. The last Emperor of Great Yuan, Nan Yishi, was beheaded by the King of Northern Ji at the palace walls.
Thus, Great Yuan, which had dominated for a century, was annihilated.
Nan Yishi!
Nan Shiying looked at these three words, her eyes seeming to fill with blood. After her death, why did the imperial throne fall to Nan Yishi?